Curt B

Great…thank you!!

Hey All, I've had a Small Shop 'Photo Etch Cut Off Set - Standard' for some time now, and found it to be a great tool. I've seen that the Small Shop has closed their business. I was wondering if anyone knows what type of material the black cutting surface is. It's pretty durable, but does get some minimal grooves in the surface when subject to heavy handed cutting, but the surface can be restored tp smooth with some sanding. Just wondering what material that cutting surface is, as it can't be anything too exotic. I'd like to eventually replace the cutting board with the same

Thank you, Gabor! You are always a great help!

Okay guys, now that I've been educated about the absence of variable vectoring of exhausts on the MiG-29, I've still got a question regarding nozzle orientation. I was really impressed with the Amigo aftermarket exhaust for this kit, so I decided to go with that, however, I'm still puzzled. Please take a look at the image below (the WORST photo ever posted on ArcAir), which shows that Amigo clearly expects the exhaust nozzles (the nozzle itself isn't shown in this photo) to be at some angle (obviously, a fixed angle) compared to the the engines. I've read somewhere that the MiG-29 exhaust

Thanks guys. I picked up some bad info somewhere. I appreciate the clarification.

I've searched and have been unable to find an answer to my question. I'm building the 1/48 GWH MiG-29 9-13, with aftermarket exhausts. The vectored exhausts have a slight 'off center' aim to them. I'm trying to determine if there is a typical 'aim' of the nozzles during engine start. I've already used the open louvers on the top of the intake tunnels, with the FOD covers on the normal air intakes closed, as I understand is typical. I'm going to have the nozzles full open, but I have not been able to determine if the nozzles are usually pointed in a direction other than completely in li

WOW, that’s a better answer than I could have hoped for…thank you!!

Thanks, gents. I'd definitely read elsewhere that the Ukraine variants did not include the 9-13. I guess there are lots of sources out there, not all correct.

Hi All, I am beginning my build of the 1/48 GWH MiG-29 9-13, and I plan to paint it in the Ukraine digital camo with various grey tones. From what I've been able to gather, Ukraine does not have the 9-13 variant, but the GWH plane is the best MiG-29 in 1/48, so I'm limited to that variant (though I also have a GWH MiG-29SMT, which I understand Ukraine also does not have). Any thoughts on what I'd need to do to the 9-13 to make it as close to a Ukraine MiG used in the current conflict? Also, I've read that the Ukraine MiG-29s have used a variety of, or modified, weapon

Hey Gwen, I presume you've actually tried, and failed, to get replacement parts for your GWH models? I'm sure we've discussed this before, just can't recall. I've not had a need...YET...for any replacements for my numerous GWH kits. But you would think, given the premium price that their models command, their customer service ought to match. However, unfortunately, this is not always the case. Hope all is well! I'm sure I owe you a PM or two! 😊

Thanks for the link. Great pictures of most of (all?) the parts. Now...WHEN CAN I GET ONE??!?!?!?!?!

No worries! It's nice to be helping each other with stuff, on topic or not!! 😊

Since someone thought the release date for the GWH A-10C might be 03/12/24, wondering if anyone has seen any on sale by any hobby stores OTHER than EBay offers from China.

Agreed, and the link was helpful. Thank you so much! Now I've got one more question...has anyone completed their MiG-31 with either or both the wing leading edge slats, or the flaps, deployed? Maybe it's just something with me, but on most of my airplane models, if there are posable control surfaces, elevator, rudder, flaps, slats, etc., I usually try to show the surfaces in their deployed or off center position. However, with this big jet, perhaps there would never be an occasion where the plane, onnn the ground, would ever have slats and/or flaps deployed. Does anyone know

Hey Ben, really cool to be helping Gabor! This is why I LOVE this site!! 😊

@Gabor: thanks for the detailed reply! It so happens that I have the Eduard MiG-21bis kit that you wrote about. I believe that I got it as part of a sell off by another modeler, and I was able to find that Cold War Studio correction set, plus a whole lot of other aftermarket stuff. That kit sits with all my other unstated models. The box is so full of stuff that the box lld barely closes! And as you wrote, even though my modeling skills have improved some, the plastic surgery required to install the corrections remains frightening to me, and I'm not sure I'll ever decide to start building

Hey all, Just beginning work on the subject kit, and I have a question, as the instructions are very much less than clear. In steps 2 and 3, for parts L4 (port side) and L15 (starboard side) respectively, it is not clear how these parts are supposed to be oriented. I think these parts are supposed to connect to the gear bay doors when they are installed, which doesn't come until later. Where those parts are mounted is clear, but not how they are to be positioned. I've looked everywhere for other builds or photos of the real plane, with no luck. Any help?

@Gabor: Hi Gabor, thanks for your thoughts on this topic. Yes, i've gotten over my modeling slump, but since then, I've still been bouncing around from kit to kit, not completing anything. I've not touched the 2 in-progress F-4 kits I have, the Tamiya F-4B and ZM F-4C, but I'm sure I'll get to them The closest I've come to completing anything is an Academy A-10C, which is at the decal/weathering stage. Hopefully, I'll push on with that soon and finally finish one. I did try to pick up a previously started build on a GWH MiG-29 9-13, but then I made some serious errors. I've abando

I just saw that Reskit is coming out with really beautiful looking 3D printed improvements to the 1/48 Hasegawa A-7D/E intake and landing gear. It looks fantastic, though close to twice the price of the kit itself. Combined with the Reskit exhaust, that should make for a fabulous Corsair II. While not having new moldings of the A-7, I’ve always liked that airplane, and the plane it was derived from, the F-8. The upgrade looks amazing!!

Agreed that the GWH A-10C appears to be the next ‘best of’ Hog kit, and I’m truly hoping this is the case. I think it’s always great to have a clear ‘top of the heap’ kit for a given aircraft, as it makes it easy to 1) recommend such kit to others, and 2) have an easy ‘go to’ for any project you do involving that airplane type. In my experience, Tamiya is typically that ‘go to’ kit for many, many aircraft types and variants, but while Tam continues to come out with clear flagship kits (e.g., 1/48 F-4B, F-14A and D, F-35A & B, P-38F/G, H and J), they are also being challenged in many area

Thank you, sir! And I agree, this IS the fun part, seeing the plane finally ‘pop’! It’s going to be one of the demo planes, 2 tone gray with historic WWII D Day invasion stripes on horizontal stabilizers and wings. Thus, very limited weathering, which is going to be new to me. Perhaps more of a challenge to do a really clean airplane, but will define the panel lines, as even those can be seen on the photos of this air show A-10C, using the 2Bobs Heritage Hawgs decals. It’s also going to have the ailerons split as the air brakes, the flaps are going to be fully extended, and the canopy ope

Thanks!!

Thanks for all the vids!! Getting more anxious now, seeing how good the plane looks. WHEN are they gonna release this thing?!?!?

Just a super bad snapshot of my Academy A-10C primed and ready for paint (with engine nacelle upper inside bulge glaringly obvious).

Agreed on both sentiments, and going back on my own thought of holding off commentary until plastic is in-hand, that short vid shows what looks to be a truly excellent inlet fan, and ideal fan depth inside the nacelle. And, if you watch carefully, you'll even see super short glimpses of light through the fan blades, promising even better engine structure than some of the aftermarket stuff for the Academy kit.